Eric J. Reed

The Gnkohmencloak

Part i: Jupiter's Rare Books, 49 S. Topside Avenue As her eyes fixed on it… or, more accurately, as they fixed on the space just beyond it… the dark leather of its delicately beveled spine seemed to almost completely recede. That is to say, the book disappeared. In its absence it left a vague outline that danced with invisibly thin threads of shimmering light. Her breath caught, and the image evaporated as her eyes habitually refocused on the book’s smoothly textured body. Vanessa spun around and quickly scanned the alley of books behind her. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular, it was more a knee-jerk reaction to having just experienced something, well, something completely unimaginable. Seeing that she was still alone felt exciting, however, and her attention immediately returned to the book. She cautiously reached up to take it from its place on the shelf. It was unassuming: a little pocket-sized black book no thicker than a quarter inch. Supple in her hands, she turned it over to view its cover, which, mysteriously, was entirely blank…